I want to apologize to Henry Mueller for ignoring him.

Thursday, October 26, 2000

I want to apologize to Henry Mueller for ignoring him.

When I sat down beside Mr. Mueller at the 2000 Mower County 4-H Recognition Banquet last Friday night, I was looking forward to visiting and having a good time.

That was before I discovered I was surrounded by Sathres on three sides and by the time I fell for the old "Why-don’t-you-sit-here-for-a-while?" trick, Lynn Sathre arrived and I was completely surrounded.

I can imagine worse fates, but this comes as close to the worst as I want.

Now, I have no problem with women. It’s just the fellas that bother me.

For instance, there’s Harvey, the former state senator. Here’s a very smart man and one who has opinions on many topics. He’s the kind of fellow you want to get to know better, but not when those hard-working Sacred Heart Women of the Church are serving a delicious turkey supper with mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, dressing and slices of turkey whispering, "Eat me."

In the time it took Mr. Sathre to tell me how the Mower County Republican Party is its own worst enemy, how the U.S. government dug a hole deeper than a list of Madonna’s lovers and left American farmers at the bottom and a thing or 12 about raising children, my mashed potatoes were colder than my ex-wife’s stare.

When you put his son, Lynn, on the other side, I was boxed in by Sathres.

Sure, there were a few insults from his daughter, Kristy, and wife Jane, but I’m telling you: Lynn Sathre has a mean streak.

The highlight of his summer was watching Yours Truly make a fool of himself at not one, but two milking contests and he delights in retelling the story whenever we meet.

But seriously, folks, congratulations to the Mower County 4-Hers and their families and another year of accomplishments.

Someday, they are going to discover that 4-H is one of the most successful youth programs anywhere and that it’s about far more than cows and plows.

Congratulations to all the winners and in 4-H that means everybody who participates.

And, finally

For those who knew her, Patsy Sargent was, indeed, one of a kind.

Her death last week at the age of 75 signaled another "legendary" Austin Daily Herald figure’s passing.

Those of you who shared your compliments on this reporter’s writing about her were too generous.

It’s easy to say nice things about someone who was so interesting and, indeed, so nice.

Suffice to say, others had more nice things to say.

One of them is Tom Purcell, the outspoken former Austin City Council member.

When Patsy went to St. Mark’s Lutheran Home, Tom and his wife Pat made visits to see Patsy a part of their daily agenda.

"She was a celebrity columnist who did not want to be a celebrity," Tom said. "People and what they did were the news and her feature stories always produced a smile or a good laugh."

"Pat was a big part of the development of the arts in Austin. She covered and promoted every thing from symphonies to face-paintings," Purcell said. "Her theatrical reviews were priceless. She was kind, but could puncture your balloon with her surgical wit."

"She commented once about my attempt at singing in a Summerset Theatre musical and I never dared sing again … even in the shower," he said.

"Pat was a wonderful sweet friend," he concluded.

And, that would seem to be the appropriate epitaph for Patsy Sargent.